VIII. Roads of Crater Lake National Park

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B. Entrance Road and Bridges

   8. Annie Spring and Goodbye Creek Bridges

Construction on the new rustic Annie Creek (or Annie Spring) bridge across the Annie Creek gorge began in 1925 and was completed in 1926. A three-span timber structure seventy-eight feet long, it was built by the Public Roads Administration under contract. By the end of that year the upper end of the Crater Lake highway was receiving a heavy coat of shale to provide a solid base for vehicular traffic. [33]

The early history of the Goodbye Creek bridge is hazy. According to park information, a Goodbye Bridge, so-named because it was the last item of construction accomplished by Superintendent Arant before his retirement, was built in 1913. A report of a park resident engineer, however, states that

the original Goodbye Creek Bridge located on the main road to the Rim between Annie Spring and Park Headquarters was constructed, under contract, by the Public Roads Administration in 1926. It was a three span, timber bridge, native Shasta Fir being used and short life was expected. [34]

The bridge was a temporary structure because relocation of the road between Annie Spring and the rim was under discussion and funds for a permanent bridge could not be requested. A 1929 news article, on the other hand, announces the completion of Goodbye bridge on July 27, 1929, marking

the end of an era in construction of oiled roads in Crater Lake National park. It is the last link in the high standard highway between Medford and the lake on the west, and Klamath Falls and the lake on the south. Built under the supervision of the United States bureau of public roads, this difficult piece of construction required the work of on an average of 10 men per day, over a period of six months. It was erected at the cost of approximately $10,000. [35]

This bridge was made of heavy peeled hemlock to conform in design to the Annie Spring bridge, and was 240 feet long, 74 feet high, and 24 feet wide with eight 30-foot spans, double truss:

The railing is effective in its simplicity, being made of balasters and rounded posts. The average dimension of the timber is 30 inches in thickness, set on concrete pedestals [sic]. The flood [floor] of the bridge is of 2 by 6 laminated deck. [36]

A June 1930 newspaper clipping mentions an extension being built on the Goodbye bridge. [37]